What Could Have Been
by Embre Falling
Summary: They would never see each other again.
1. What Could Have Been

His music career took off faster than anyone could ever have imagined.

She was happy for him, of course: happy that his dream was taking flight even if it meant certain sacrifices on her part. Happy to see him go to the school he's always wanted to go to, instead of stuck here, with her, at Anubis.

Happy for him even if it meant they would never see each other again.

He had been accepted into a private school in London, a school for musical geniuses, a school that wouldn't accept her if her life depended on it. Just thinking about all the pretty girls who could sing and play guitar that he would undoubtedly meet at that fancy-schmancy school of his made Nina's blood boil.

She, of course, was the first person he went to when he got the scholarship. "Do you think I should go?" He had asked, fiddling with the letter.

She had forced a smile and bit her cheek and lied between her teeth. "Of course you should go!" She had said, and then went on about how it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and he shouldn't throw that all away.

If he noticed, he didn't say anything.

She wondered, blankly, whether he would have stayed if she had asked him to. Whether, if she had begged and pleaded and cried like she so felt like doing right now, he would have stayed.

With her.

Here.

But she didn't and he hadn't and honestly she wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, it hurt now, but over time they'd both move on and then they would be okay.

They would be okay.

But for now, she was aloud to cry. For now she was aloud to let the tears slip down her cheeks and _cry, _she was aloud to let loose the screams of pain and sorrow that threatened to escape from her lips.

For now, left behind to watch his taxi disappear from view, she was aloud to daydream about all that might've been. All the places they'll never see together.

And maybe, tomorrow, she'd dream up another day.

**A/N: Okay. How was that? ****I think I might just stick with one-shots now… my multi-chapter isn't coming along so well, I have massive writer's block and, anyway, it's not going to have a happy ending. (In case you can't tell by the way all my other fics turn out.)**

**So, in short… REVIEW! **


	2. Deleted

He fingers his guitar restlessly, his hands moving up and down the chords, his mouth moving but no sound coming out.

Frustrated, he pushes the guitar away and crushes the paper into a ball. He's been at this for hours and he still can't get it right.

He's working on a new song; it's supposed to be upbeat, happy, his teacher says, but he just can't muster up the energy.

It's been two weeks since he left Anubis, two weeks since he started attending Summer's Academy for Young Musicians. In those two weeks he's only heard from Nina once.

Once.

In a text.

His head falls forward, and he's surprised to feel tears streaking down his face.

He lets them fall.

He honestly didn't expect her to lose interest in him that quickly: he expected there to be letters, texts, emails, for the first few weeks at least. But… to have her send virtually nothing, save for a two-worded text on the taxi ride here…

Nothing? Was that all he meant to her?

He grits his teeth and swings around to punch a pillow lying behind him.

Nothing?

All those nights up in the attic; the kiss they shared at prom; all those little kisses he'd managed to snag afterwards—did they mean nothing to her?

_Of course they did, _he reasons: _she just hasn't had time to write, that's all. _

But he doesn't believe that.

He draws in a shaky breath and closes his eyes. There's a song due in class tomorrow and he hasn't written one line. He won't let thoughts of Nina distract him any longer.

So he grabs his guitar again and sits down. Absentmindedly he lets his fingers play over the strings.

_"Did you forget…"_

He freezes; the line was out of his mouth before he could even think about it.

He takes a breath and starts again, letting the words come to him as he plays.

"_Did you forget… I was even alive?_

_Did you forget… everything we ever had?_

_Did you forget… did you forget… about me?"_

Here he pauses, putting the guitar down to scribble down the words and some notes. It's not upbeat and it's certainly not happy, but it's a song, and it's all he's gonna manage for now.

"_Did you regret… ever standing by my side?_

_Did you forget… we were feeling inside?_

_Now I'm left… to forget… about us."_

His voice is quiet as he sings, like he's whispering, almost like he's on the brink of crying.

_"But somewhere we went wrong_

_We were once so strong_…"—he swallows hard—

"_Our love… is like… a song,_

_You can't forget it…."_

He trails off, staring out the window. _Why did I ever agree to this scholarship? _He thinks. _Why did Nina even want me to go?_

"_So now, I guess…" _He continues, swallowing the sobs choking up his throat. "_This is where we have to stand…_

_Did you regret… ever holding my hand?_

_Never again… please don't forget… don't forget…_

He sets the guitar on the floor and closes his eyes. A minute passes and then you realize he's crying.

What hurts the most, he thinks, is the realization that maybe he doesn't mean as much to her as she means to him.

He takes his phone out, scrolling down the list of received text messages until he finds hers.

_Miss you._

He wonders if it's true.

Then he presses **_delete._**

_Somewhere we went wrong_

_Our love is like a song_

_But you won't sing along_

_You've forgotten_

_About _

_Us_

_**A/N Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm half-asleep, okay? I don't write very good at 11;00 at night.**  
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